Structure and Function of Dendrites In Vivo

While several studies had previously studied dendritic function in small mammals and vertebrates, the role of dendrites (in terms of feature selectivity) was completely unknown in the non-rodent mammalian cerebral cortex, which has precise columns for features such as stimulus orientation, direction, and binocularity. We developed new tools to map the organization of sensory processing at a subcellular scale, e.g., monitor the shape and activity on individual dendrites and spines in vivo—with respect to functional maps, e.g., orientation selectivity.